Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 25-06 for elk

My daughter who is rather small wants to us her 25 for elk. any good loads for this critter. thanks all.

100gr TTSX, Fed 210, RP brass, 53gr IMR4350

You talking factory or load your own?

For load your own, I'd try 7828 and one of the following bullets(100 Horn, 100 NPT, 115 NBT, 120 NPT, 120 Sierra HPBT, 120 or 100 SAF, 120 CL)

Not to tough to find a good bullet for this rig and elk in my experience.

Good luck to her on her hunts!

Dober

I have taken a few elk with the .257 Roberts...and the Barnes
100 gr coated.....now replased by the TSX.

One shot kills. However they were all shot under 230yards.

A good bullet, lots of practice and confidence. Should do the trick quite well.

The .25-'06 just plain kills elk deader than a do-do. Any good 100-grain bullet will do ... most of mine were killed with the Hornady 100-grain Interlocked and it simply electrocutes elk.

Steve

Ours likes IMR4350 and the elk didn't like the 115 CT last year. Keep meaning to try the 100 interlock sometime.

Maybe it's just me, but why shoot elk with a 100 gr bullet when many premium bullets are available in 120 gr, a 20% increase in bullet weight? Me, I'm thinking the 120 gr Nosler Partition or Barnes TSX at around 3000 fps. The .25-06 is marginal as an elk round anyway, so why not shoot the heaviest bullet available? The 120 gr is still plenty light for a woman.

I love my .25-06, but I've shot my elk with the 7 RemMag, .30-06, .300 Winny, and .338 WinMag, each a better elk cartridge than the .25-06. JMO.

He was talking about his daughter using this.

The 25 will do just fine if she does her part. Tell her we expect pics.

This is a gift after high school and proir to med school type of hunt. zthis is her first elk hunt, she has not missed a deer yet. I was thinking of 115 accubond? ant way thanks for all your help....

Probably thinking 110 accubond. That would be a great choice in a 25-06. If she can drive it, and it sounds like she can, it will do great work for you.

dawaba,

Upon what do you base your assessment that the .25-06 is marginal for elk?

The three people I know who have used them recovered their bulls. Not only that they have recovered everyone they shot at. Of about ten, only one required a second shot. The others were DRT.

Ringman, several years back, I helped a high-fence property owner thin out his doe population to bring his buck-doe ratio in line. Four of us killed 53 does in a day and a half. I shot a .22-250 with Nosler 50 gr Bullets at nearly 3900 fps, and this load was the Hammer of Thor on the does, all of which were taken with broadside chest shots.

Now, one might surmise that the these little pills would be the cat's meow for shooting deer. They probably would, providing the hunter was a cool and accurate shooter and one who would decline any shot except one with a perfect broadside presentation. However, if I were trophy hunting for the buck of a lifetime or even for a spike for the freezer, I would choose a heavier bullet in a stouter caliber than the .22-250 in 50 gr.

I stand by my opinion that the .25-06, great cartridge that it is, is a marginal round for elk. If you will re-read my post, I recognize that the hunter is a lady, light of stature, who owns a rifle in the quarter-inch bore. I think she should GO RIGHT AHEAD and shoot her elk with her .25-06. BUT (BUT!!), she should shoot a premium bullet and wait for the animal to present a perfect broadside shot. This would ensure that her 120 gr bullet would double-lung the beast and bring it to bag.

Fortunately for the rest of us, there are more powerful options than the .25-06. These heavier rounds will suffice even when the elk gives us a less than perfect presentation. I think that every ethical and responsible hunter should tailor his weapon to the animal he seeks and plan accordingly.

My current .25-06 is a wonderfully accurate outfit based on a Remington 700 action with a custom Douglas stainless barrel mounted and trued by Steve Lampheare. With it, I shot a near-book, 17" antelope in New Mexico and a desert bighorn ram in Nevada. The pronghorn fell with a Nosler 100 Solid Base and the sheep with a 120 Nosler Partition. I've also taken a few deer with this rifle, mainly with 117-120 gr bullets. I think that the .25-06 may be the perfect deer/antelope/sheep cartridge.

I've shot all the various sub-species of caribou in North America as well, but none with the .25-06. Since caribou are not particularly tenacious of life, I wouldn't hesitate to use the .25-06 on one of these too. BUT, a 300-lb caribou would probably be the heaviest animal I would hunt with a .25-06, and they're a good bit smaller than an elk.

Guys who shoot elk with a .25-06 would also not hesitate to hunt quail and dove with a .410. That's fine, and such a choice is for the experts only, IMO, just like your choice in an elk rifle. I'm guessing that you are an experienced and selective elk hunter and that you are cool and precise in your aim. Otherwise, you would have probably been on many fruitless and frustrating spoors.

Barnes TSX, nosler part & nosler accubond would be on my short list. My 2506 shoots all of these well within hunting accuracy needs but the TSX and AB are the better of the 3. If it were me the barnes bullet would get the nod 100 out of 100 times with elk on the menu!

Good luck to you and your daughter!!

It's funny. When somebody mentions a smaller cartridge lacking the ability to penetrate on less than ideal shots, I have to wonder if these same guys have ever compared the penetration of 100gr TSX's from a .25-06 or a 120gr TSX from a 6.5 to a 165gr PT (a find elk bullet!) from a .30-06...

dawaba: Well said.

I'd be 4 guessing that you've used the 25/06 to take elk b4 right? How many and what is it about the taking of elk with the 25 that put you off on it?

Thx 4 sharing

Dober

Kind of funny, I always thought of the .25-06 as too light for elk. When I started hunting mule deer with one, I found it killed like lightning, and started bumping into more and more hunters who had used one on elk. That surprised me - but after seeing what the little 100 gr TSX does to a mule deer I am not at all surprised that these other hunters did so well with it on elk. I've not pushed mine to elk yet, but if I do, I'll load the 100 gr TSX or perhaps one of the good 115 - 120 gr bullets avail... Then carefully place the shot. It should do, but then what would I need those bigger rifles for???

It's always interesting that on these threads many people make a big point of about precisely or carefull placing a shot with the .25-06--or whatever "too light" cartridge is being discussed.

The implication is that with bigger cartridges such careful shot placement isn't necessary. I know that's not what most posters want to imply, but there it is.

My experience is that with CAREFUL shot placement about any cartridge meant for big game will kill elk neatly--and that no cartridge kills elk very well with "non-careful" bullet placement.

Big time true, the other comment that always cracks me up is the one about if you keep your shots to 300 yds you'll be ook...grin

Dober

I got flamed on another forum for posting that I had told my friend to leave his 25-06 home and take his 30-06 on our Colorado elk hunt (his first). He loves his 25-06 on deer and he is truly deadly with it. I also know that his deer killin load involves the 100 gr Ballistic Tip and I have been less than impressed by the penetration of that bullet on deer. Destructive, yes. Quick kills, yes for the most part. I've seen more than a dozen of his deer kills, admittedly a small sample but large enough for me to form my opinion.
If I could have convinced him to try another bullet like the TSX or 120 gr Partition I would have had no reservations. I do agree with Mule Deer that all of our shots should be carefully placed to the best of our ability, but critters have the habit of moving at the least opportune time. I had a doe move just as my trigger was breaking at 100 yds shooting off a very steady rest. It resulted in a less than desirable hit but was still deadly.
Let an elk move unpredictably at the last moment and bullet construction becomes a lot more important when heavy bone gets in the way. I've seen what an elk humerus can do to even a 338 cal 225 gr Accubond.
Guess what I'm trying to say is I basically agree with most of the posts here. Use the proper bullet and kill that elk. Wish her the best of luck!